American Hustle, Gravity and 12 Years A Slave look set to dominate the 2014 Academy Awards. The movies will go head-to-head for Best Picture along with Captain Phillips, Nebraska, Philomena, Dallas Buyers Club, Her and The Wolf of Wall Street.
British stars Christian Bale (American Hustle) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave) both scored a mention for Best Actor, while American Hustle's Amy Adams will go head-to-head with Gravity's Sandra Bullock for Best Actress.
Other actresses nominated in the category are Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Judi Dench (Philomena) and Meryl Streep (August: Osage County).
Last year's (13) winner of the Best Actress trophy, Jennifer Lawrence, will compete for Best Supporting Actress for her role in American Hustle, while Bradley Cooper landed a Best Supporting Actor nod for his role in the crime caper.
12 Years A Slave co-stars Lupita Nyong'o and Michael Fassbender also picked up nods for their supporting roles, while the film's director Steve McQueen and American Hustle's David. O. Russell both landed nominations for Best Director along with Gravity's Alfonso Cuaron.
Speaking shortly after the nominations were announced, British moviemaker McQueen told the BBC, "(I am) just very excited - nine nominations. A lot of them (the Oscar nominees are) British. I am just so excited. We worked very hard and are very privileged to receive these nominations."
While O. Russell admits he is thrilled that all four of his film's main actors picked up nods, adding, "It's all four actors... you always worry as sort of the captain... that one of your great performers is not going to get recognised... they all put so much into it and they did it together so it's nice that none of them got left out."
American Hustle and Gravity both scored 10 nominations, while 12 Years A Slave landed nine.
The nominations were announced by actor Chris Hemsworth and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs on Thursday (16Jan14), and the winners will be unveiled during the Los Angeles prizegiving on 2 March (14).
The full list of nominees is as follows:
Best Picture:
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years A Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
Directing:
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
Alexander Payne - Nebraska
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street
Actor in a Leading Role:
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
Actress in a Leading Role:
Amy Adams - American Hustle
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Meryl Streep - August: Osage County
Actor in a Supporting Role:
Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years A Slave
Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
Actress in a Supporting Role:
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
June Squibb - Nebraska
Adapted Screenplay:
Before Midnight - Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
Captain Phillips - Billy Ray
Philomena - Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
12 Years A Slave - John Ridley
The Wolf of Wall Street - Terence Winter
Original Screenplay:
American Hustle - Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine - Woody Allen
Dallas Buyers Club - Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack
Her - Spike Jonze
Nebraska - Bob Nelson
Animated Feature Film:
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises
Cinematography:
The Grandmaster - Philippe Le Sourd
Gravity - Emmanuel Lubezki
Inside Llewyn Davis - Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska - Phedon Papamichael
Prisoners - Roger A. Deakins
Costume Design:
American Hustle - Michael Wilkinson
The Grandmaster - William Chang Suk Ping
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin
The Invisible Woman - Michael O'Connor
12 Years A Slave - Patricia Norris
Documentary Feature:
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom
Documentary Short Subject:
Cavedigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall
Film Editing:
American Hustle - Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers, Alan Baumgarten
Captain Phillips - Christopher Rouse
Dallas Buyers Club - John Mac McMurphy, Martin Pensa
Gravity - Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger
12 Years A Slave - Joe Walker
Foreign Language Film:
The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Missing Picture
Omar
Makeup And Hairstyling:
Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger
Music - Original Score:
The Book Thief
Gravity
Her
Philomena
Saving Mr. Banks
Music - Original Song:
Alone Yet Not Alone by Bruce Broughton and Dennis Spiegel, from Alone Yet Not Alone
Happy by Pharrell Williams, from Despicable Me 2
Let it Go by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, from Frozen
The Moon Song by Karen O, from Her
Ordinary Love by U2, from Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
Production Design:
American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 Years A Slave
Sound Editing:
All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor
Sound Mixing:
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor
Visual Effects:
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness.

A kids’ movie without the cheeky jokes for adults is like a big juicy BLT without the B… or the T. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted may have a title that sounds like it was made up in a cartoon sequel laboratory but when it comes to serving up laughs just think of the film as a BLT with enough extra bacon to satisfy even the wildest of animals — or even a parent with a gaggle of tots in tow. Yes even with that whole "Afro Circus" nonsense.
It’s not often that we find exhaustively franchised films like the Madagascar set that still work after almost seven years. Despite being spun off into TV shows and Christmas specials in addition to its big screen adventures the series has not only maintained its momentum it has maintained the part we were pleasantly surprised by the first time around: great jokes.
In this third installment of the series – the trilogy-maker if you will – directing duo Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath add Conrad Vernon (director Monsters Vs. Aliens) to the helm as our trusty gang swings back into action. Alex the lion (Ben Stiller) Marty the zebra (Chris Rock) Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) are stuck in Africa after the hullaballoo of Madagascar 2 and they’ll do anything to get back to their beloved New York. Just a hop skip and a jump away in Monte Carlo the penguins are doing their usual greedy schtick but the zoo animals catch up with them just in time to catch the eye of the sinister animal control stickler Captain Dubois (Frances McDormand). And just like that the practically super human captain is chasing them through Monte Carlo and the rest of Europe in hopes of planting Alex’s perfectly coifed lion head on her wall of prized animals.
Luckily for pint-sized viewers Dubois’ terrifying presence is balanced out by her sheer inhuman strength uncanny guiles and Stretch Armstrong flexibility (ah the wonder of cartoons) as well as Alex’s escape plan: the New Yorkers run away with the European circus. While Dubois’ terrifying Doberman-like presence looms over the entire film a sense of levity (which is a word the kiddies might learn from Stiller’s eloquent lion) comes from the plan for salvation in which the circus animals and the zoo animals band together to revamp the circus and catch the eye of a big-time American agent. Sure the pacing throughout the first act is practically nonexistent running like a stampede through the jungle but by the time we're palling around under the big top the film finds its footing.
The visual splendor of the film (and man is there a champion size serving of it) the magnificent danger and suspense is enhanced to great effect by the addition of 3D technology – and not once is there a gratuitous beverage or desperate Crocodile Dundee knife waved in our faces to prove its worth. The caveat is that the soundtrack employs a certain infectious Katy Perry ditty at the height of the 3D spectacular so parents get ready to hear that on repeat until the leaves turn yellow.
But visual delights and adventurous zoo animals aside Madagascar 3’s real strength is in its script. With the addition of Noah Baumbach (Greenberg The Squid and the Whale) to the screenwriting team the script is infused with a heightened level of almost sarcastic gravitas – a welcome addition to the characteristically adult-friendly reference-heavy humor of the other Madagascar films. To bring the script to life Paramount enlisted three more than able actors: Vitaly the Siberian tiger (Bryan Cranston) Gia the Leopard (Jessica Chastain) and Stefano the Italian Sealion (Martin Short). With all three actors draped in European accents it might take viewers a minute to realize that the cantankerous tiger is one and the same as the man who plays an Albuquerque drug lord on Breaking Bad but that makes it that much sweeter to hear him utter slant-curse words like “Bolshevik” with his usual gusto.
Between the laughs the terror of McDormand’s Captain Dubois and the breathtaking virtual European tour the Zoosters’ accidental vacation is one worth taking. Madagascar 3 is by no means an insta-classic but it’s a perfectly suited for your Summer-at-the-movies oasis.

Most moviegoers' mission Memorial Day weekend will be to see Paramount's "Mission: Impossible 2."
The PG-13-rated action adventure sequel -- known for short as "M:I-2" -- got off to a flying start with its Wednesday opening to $12.5 million at a record-setting 3,653 theaters ($3,422 per theater).
"It's a 37% first choice in the tracking," an insider points out, predicting blockbuster business for the long holiday weekend. Looking back, he adds, the original "Mission" was a 27% first choice when it opened, and last year's "Star Wars: Episode One -- The Phantom Menace" was a 43% first choice.
"M:I-2's" Wednesday gross compares very favorably to the original "Mission: Impossible's" opening day total of $11.8 million for Wed., May 22, 1996, at 3,012 theaters ($3,918 per theater). That gross actually included pre-opening Tuesday night preview showings as well as the first full day's ticket sales. Because Paramount never broke out how much of that total represented the previews, it's consequently impossible to make precise comparisons between the two opening-day figures. It's reasonable, however, to figure that the sneaks did $1.5-2.0 million, which would have put the Wednesday-only gross in the $10.3-$9.8 million range.
The original "Mission" took in $56.8 million for the four-day weekend (May 24-27, 1996). It grossed $74.9 million for six days (if you don't count Tuesday's previews as an additional day or a half-day) and $79.0 million for its first full week in theaters (again, not counting the previews as an extra day). "Mission" went on to gross $180.9 million domestically and $284 million internationally, for a worldwide cume of $464.9 million.
Hollywood handicappers are anticipating $75-95 million for "M:I-2" for the six-day period from Wednesday through Monday and a seven-day gross of $80-100 million.
Clearly, "M:I-2" will be Number One by a mile for the four-day weekend, grossing north of $56 million.
Although there will be tons of media coverage of the opening day's gross, it won't be until Friday morning that the first meaningful comparisons can be made. Friday it will be possible to compare the drop from Wednesday to Thursday. The original "Mission's" drop was 46%, but its Wednesday gross included Tuesday night previews.
"Here's the question," says one observer. "Did all of that business go into Wednesday? In other words, the people who were so gung-ho to come out (to see the original) that Tuesday night, did they simply come out (to see the sequel) Wednesday, or are some of them going to be spread out over the first couple of days? If you accept the theory that you can't do as much business in one day as you can in a day and a half - whether because of capacity or because people might have been able to go Tuesday who couldn't go Wednesday for some reason - then they should not take as big a drop Thursday. They'll be measuring one day against one day, where last time they were measuring one day against a day and a half. That plus the better playability of the sequel suggests they won't drop 46% Thursday from Wednesday."
In 1996, "Mission's" daily grosses for its first week in theaters were: Wednesday -- $11.8 million; Thursday -- $6.3 million; Friday -- $13.1 million; Saturday -- $16.7 million; Sunday -- $15.6 million; Monday -- $11.4 million; and Tuesday -- $4.1 million. Its seven-day total was $79 million.
"If they follow the same trajectory, they'll be ahead of $79 million," an insider explains. "Obviously, they're hoping they won't drop 46% on Thursday because the sequel plays better than the first one. You're dealing with such big numbers that the difference between a 35% drop Thursday and a 46% drop could ultimately be $15 million for the first week, in the sense that it follows a different trajectory."
Directed by John Woo, "M:I-2" was produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner through their Cruise/Wagner production company, which also produced the 1996 blockbuster "Mission: Impossible." Besides Cruise, the sequel stars Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Sherbedzija and Ving Rhames. It was written by Robert Towne and executive produced by Terence Chang and Paul Hitchcock.
"I think 'Dinosaur' has the potential to do for the four days what it did last weekend for three days," a distribution executive predicts. That would give the Buena Vista/Disney PG-rated computer animated feature $39-40 million and make it a solid Number Two in its second weekend.
Directed by Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton, it features such voices as D.B. Sweeney, Ossie Davis, Joan Plowright, Della Reese and Alfre Woodard.
"For pictures that play well, they tend to do on Memorial Day weekend what they did the previous (three-day) weekend," an insiders says. "Obviously, a movie like 'Mission' coming into the marketplace takes a big chunk of business - maybe not so much out of 'Dinosaur,' but out of 'Gladiator.'"
If "Gladiator" takes a hit, the DreamWorks' R-rated action adventure would finish third with $15-16 million in its fourth week. The film is half owned by Universal, which is releasing it internationally.
Directed by Ridley Scott, it stars Russell Crowe.
DreamWorks' R-rated youth appeal comedy "Road Trip" should come in fourth in its second weekend. "'Road Trip,' which opened to $15.5 million, ought to be able to do $12 million for the four days," an executive speculates.
Directed by Todd Philips, it stars Breckin Meyer and Sean William Scott.
The holiday weekend's only other new arrival, Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13-rated action comedy "Shanghai Noon," doesn't kick off until Friday. Given its first-choice tracking of 7%, it isn't likely to do better than fifth place with about $10 million at 2,711 theaters.
"It's a 7% first choice for both males and females," an insider notes. "Its best score is 10% with 18-20 year olds."
Directed by Tom Dey, "Shanghai" stars Jackie Chan, Owen C. Wilson and Lucy Liu.
"That puts it in a category with (Buena Vista's comedy) 'Spy Hard,' which opened to $10.4 million in third place for the four-day weekend against the first 'Mission: Impossible,'" says one observer. That same weekend, Warner Bros.' "Twister" was second with $38 million, which is in the same area as "Dinosaur" this time around.
"After 'Shanghai Noon,' you basically fall off the deep end," a studio source points out. "'Small Time Crooks' may grab another $3 million. The rest is just a couple million here and there - for 'U-571' and 'Frequency' and 'Battlefield Earth.'"
Written and directed by Woody Allen, the PG-rated comedy "Crooks" stars Allen, Tony Darrow, Hugh Grant, George Grizzard, Jon Lovitz, Elaine May, Michael Rapaport, Elaine Stritch and Tracey Ullman.
Warner Bros. and Franchise Pictures' PG-13-rated sci-fi action adventure "Battlefield Earth" is directed by Roger Christian and stars John Travolta, Barry Pepper and Forest Whitaker.
Universal's PG-13-rated World War II submarine drama "U-571" is directed by Jonathan Mostow and stars Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel and Jon Bon Jovi.
New Line's PG-13-rated time travel thriller "Frequency" is directed by Gregory Hoblit and stars Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel.
On the limited release front: Paramount Classics opens its PG-13-rated drama "Passion of Mind."
Directed by Alain Berliner, it stars Demi Moore.
MEMORIAL DAY OVERVIEW
Looking back at Memorial Day weekends over nearly two decades, it's clear that the holiday's importance to Hollywood has grown by leaps and bounds.
Memorial Day began looking like a potentially big holiday as far back as 1982 when MGM/UA's "Rocky III" starring Sylvester Stallone delive ed a $16 million knockout punch for four days at 939 theaters ($17,055 per theater). Hollywood hadn't quite yet realized how a Wednesday opening could extend a holiday weekend's impact, so "Rocky III" entered the ring on a Friday (May 28).
"Rocky III" ran rings around everything else playing that weekend: 20th Century Fox's suspense thriller "Visiting Hours" ($5.3 million), Universal's action drama "Conan the Barbarian" ($5.2 million), Universal's comedy "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" ($4.6 million) and Fox's youth appeal comedy "Porky's" ($4.5 million). Key films - those grossing at least $500,000 for the four days from May 28-31 - took in $49.9 million.
Only one year later, in 1983, Memorial Day box office history was being rewritten with Fox's launch of George Lucas' third "Star Wars" film "Return of the Jedi." This time, the action got underway on Wednesday, as "Jedi" blasted off to $30.5 million for four days (May 27-30) and $41.1 million for six days at 1,002 theaters.
Everything else playing was in a much lower orbit: Columbia's action drama "Blue Thunder" ($6.2 million), Paramount's romantic dance drama "Flashdance" ($4.7 million), Columbia's sci-fi epic "Spacehunter" ($4.6 million) and Orion's drama "Breathless" ($2.8 million). Key films grossed $61.4 million.
"Jedi's" Memorial Day record only lasted until 1984, one year later, when Paramount's adventure "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, kicked off on a Wednesday to $33.9 million for four days (May 25-28) and $42.3 million for six days at 1,687 theaters.
Nothing else came close: TriStar's drama "The Natural" ($6.9 million), Cannon and MGM/UA's dance film "Breakin'" ($4.1 million), Fox's adventure drama "Romancing the Stone" ($4.1 million) and Universal's youth appeal comedy "16 Candles" ($2.9 million). Key films took in $67.3 million.
Memorial Day 1985 wasn't nearly as strong as it had been in '84. TriStar's adventure sequel "Rambo: First Blood 2" starring Sylvester Stallone finished first with $25.5 million. With 2,074 theaters, it was the widest release Memorial Day had ever seen to that point.
By 1985 Hollywood was beginning to see the value of being in the Memorial Day marketplace. Unlike past years, when only one big new film had opened for the long weekend, 1985 brought a Friday opening for MGM/UA's James Bond adventure "A View To A Kill" ($13.3 million) and a Wednesday launch for Universal's comedy "Brewster's Millions" ($9.6 million for four days and $11.5 million for six days). Rounding out the top five were Paramount's long running "Beverly Hills Cop" ($2.9 million) and Warner Bros.' comedy "Police Academy 2" ($1.5 million). Key films grossed $63.6 million from May 24-27.
Memorial Day 1986 saw a big downturn in holiday ticket sales. Cannon/Warner Bros.' opening of the action adventure "Cobra" starring Sylvester Stallone was first with an unexciting $15.7 million at 2,131 theaters for four days.
MGM/UA's opening of its horror sequel "Poltergeist II" was a strong second with $12.4 million at 1,596 theaters. Others in the top five were: Paramount's "Top Gun" starring Tom Cruise, which had opened a week earlier ($9.4 million), TriStar's comedy "Short Circuit" ($5.5 million) and Universal's comedy "Sweet Liberty" ($3.1 million). Key films took in $51.9 million from May 23-26.
Memorial Day ticket sales snapped back to life in 1987 with Paramount's opening of "Beverly Hills Cop II" starring Eddie Murphy ($33.0 million for four days and $40.6 million for six days) at 2,326 theaters.
Second place went to Buena Vista's launch of "Ernest Goes to Camp" ($6.2 million). Others in the top five: Universal's comedy "The Secret of My Success" ($3.7 million), Columbia's failed comedy "Ishtar" ($3.4 million) and New Century's horror film "The Gate" ($2.9 million). Key films took in $62.2 million from May 22-25.
Memorial Day 1988 took a step backwards with Paramount's opening of "Crocodile Dundee II" starring Paul Hogan ($24.5 million for four days and $29.2 million for six days) at 2,837 theaters. By 1988, studios were going much wider than ever before.
TriStar's launch of "Rambo III" starring Sylvester Stallone was second with $16.7 million at 2,562 theaters ($21.2 million for six days). Also playing: MGM/UA's George Lucas drama "Willow" ($7.6 million), Orion's drama "Colors" ($2.4 million) and Warners' Tim Burton classic "Beetlejuice" ($2.0 million). Key films grossed $63.1 million from May 27-30.
Memorial Day saw big-time success again in 1989 with Paramount's opening of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" from Lucas/Spielberg with $37.0 million for four days and $46.9 million for six days at 2,327 theaters.
Nothing else stood a chance: TriStar's thriller "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" ($6.1 million), Universal's drama "Field of Dreams" ($5.7 million), UA's youth comedy "Road House" ($5.0 million) and Warners' opening of the drama "Pink Cadillac" starring Clint Eastwood ($4.4 million for four days). Key films mustered $69.5 million from May 26-29.
Memorial Day 1990 brought a downturn with Universal's opening of "Back To the Future Part III" with $23.7 million for four days at 2,019 theaters.
Universal also occupied second place with "Bird On A Wire" starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn ($12.8 million), which had opened one week earlier.
Others in the top five: Buena Vista's blockbuster "Pretty Woman" ($8.2 million), Orion's comedy drama "Cadillac Man" starring Robin Williams ($6.5 million) and Buena Vista's opening of its action drama "Fire Birds" starring Nicolas Cage and Tommy Lee Jones ($6.4 million for four days). Key films took in $69.8 million from May 25-28.
Memorial Day continued to drop in 1991 with Universal's opening of Ron Howard's drama "Backdraft" with $15.7 million for four days at 1,852 theaters. Second place went to Buena Vista's comedy "What About Bob" ($11.2 million) and TriStar's opening of the drama "Hudson Hawk" starring Bruce Willis was third ($7.1 million for four days at 2,071 theaters).
Rounding out the top five: MGM's opening of the now classic drama "Thelma &amp; Louise" starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis ($6.1 million for four days at 1,179 theaters) and Fox's opening of its drama "Only the Lonely" ($6.0 million at 1,179 theaters for four days). Key films totaled $69.6 million from May 24-27.
Success was in the air again with Memorial Day 1992 as Warners took first place with "Lethal Weapon 3" starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover ($27.6 million at 2,510 theaters). Having opened a week earlier, its 11 day cume was $70.5 million.
Fox's opening of "Alien 3" starring Sigourney Weaver was second with $23.1 million for four days at 2,227 theaters. Third place went to Universal's opening of Ron Howard's drama "Far and Away" starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman ($12.9 million for four days at 1,583 theaters).
Rounding out the top five: Buena Vista's opening of the comedy "Encino Man" starring Brendan Fraser ($9.9 million for four days at 2,050 theaters); and TriStar's blockbuster thriller "Basic Instinct" starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone ($3.2 million). Key films accounted for $93.5 million from May 22-25, marking the first time the Memorial Day marketplace expanded within reach of $100 million.
Memorial Day 1993 brought yet another TriStar action adventure opening starring Sylvester Stallone - "Cliffhanger" with $20.5 million for four days at 2,333 theaters. Second place went to Warners' opening of the comedy "Made In America" starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson ($11.8 million for four days at 2,048 theaters).
Warners' comedy "Dave" was third ($8.9 million), followed by Buena Vista's opening of the youth appeal drama "Super Mario Bros." ($8.5 millio n for four days at 2,081 theaters) and Fox's comedy sequel "Hot Shots! Part Deux" ($8.2 million). Key films retreated to $88.1 million from May 28-31.
Memorial Day ticket sales were on the rise again in 1994 with Universal's launch of its comedy "The Flintstones" with $37.2 million for four days at 2,498 theaters. Warners' second weekend of "Maverick" starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner was second ($18.6 million). Paramount's opening of "Beverly Hills Cop III" starring Eddie Murphy was third with $15.3 million for four days and $18.8 million for six days at 2,748 theaters.
Also in the top five: Buena Vista's drama "When A Man Loves A Woman" ($7.0 million) and Miramax's suspense thriller "The Crow" ($6.6 million). Key films were once again pushing $100 million -- with $95.2 million from May 27-30.
The marketplace expanded over Memorial Day 1995 although there wasn't as much action in first place. Universal's dramatic comedy "Casper" opened atop the chart with $22.1 million for four days at 2,714 theaters. Fox's second weekend of "Die Hard With A Vengeance" starring Bruce Willis was second with $19.0 million. Paramount's opening of "Braveheart" starring Mel Gibson took third place with $12.9 million for four days and $15.6 million for six days at 2,035 theaters.
Rounding out the top five: Buena Vista's drama "Crimson Tide" ($12.8 million) and Sony's comedy drama "Forget Paris" starring Billy Crystal and Debra Winger ($7.7 million). Key films cracked $100 million for the first time with $112.0 million for May 26-29.
Memorial Day 1996 really brought the holiday weekend into its own as Paramount launched "Mission: Impossible" to $56.8 million for four days and $74.9 million for six days (including Tuesday night previews) at 3,012 theaters. It was the widest release ever for a Memorial Day opening.
Warners' disaster drama "Twister" was a solid second with $38.0 million in its third weekend. Buena Vista's comedy "Spy Hard" opened in third place with $10.4 million for four days. Universal's family film "Flipper" was fourth with $5.4 million. Fifth place went to Fox's drama "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" ($2.7 million). Key films collected $124.99 million from May 24-27.
What was big in '96 looked smaller a year later as Memorial Day 1997 saw Universal's opening of Steven Spielberg's "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" to $92.7 million at 3,281 theaters for four days (including its Thursday night previews).
Warners' opening of the drama "Addicted to Love" was a distant second with $11.4 million for four days at 2,007 theaters. Sony's sci-fi drama "The Fifth Element" was third ($8.0 million), followed by New Line's comedy "Austin Powers" ($5.6 million) and Paramount's drama "Breakdown" ($5.4 million). Key films did a hefty $142.9 million from May 23-26.
Memorial Day 1998 saw the marketplace contract again as Sony's "Godzilla" opened in first place with $55.7 million for four days and $74.3 million for six days at 3,310 theaters. Paramount's sci-fi disaster drama "Deep Impact" was second with $19.4 million in its third weekend.
Buena Vista's drama "The Horse Whisperer" starring Robert Redford and Kristin Scott-Thomas was third with $14.5 million in its second weekend. Also in the top five: Fox's satire "Bulworth" starring Warren Beatty ($10.5 million) and Warners' animated feature "Quest For Camelot" ($6.3 million). Key films grossed $128.97 million from May 22-25.
Memorial Day 1999 was topped by Fox's "Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace" from George Lucas with $66.9 million for four days at 3,023 theaters, bringing its cume to $207.1 million for 13 days.
Second place went to Universal's opening of its romantic comedy drama "Notting Hill" starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant ($27.7 million for four days at 2,747 theaters). Universal also took third place with "The Mummy" ($12.9 million). Rounding out the top five: Fox's romantic thriller "Entrapment" ($7.2 million) and Sony's opening of its sci-fi thriller "The Thirteenth Floor" ($4.3 million for four days at 1,815 theaters). Key films took in $136.1 million from May 28-31.

Napster, the wildly popular Web site that allowed users to swap music files for free, will finally have a pay version ready this year despite its legal pummeling by the record industry. Thomas Middelhoff, chief executive of media giant and Napster backer Bertelsmann, said in his speech at the two-day Babelsburg 2001 conference, "Out of the onetime pirate, a business will be born. Of course, Napster will be put into a legal form that protects the rights of artists and producers." Napster will be joining other fee-based music services such as Pressplay, backed by Vivendi Universal and Sony and independent distribution companies FullAudio and Uplister.
Weddings
Anne Heche, the former girlfriend of comedian Ellen Degeneres, will marry cameraman Coley Laffoon on Saturday. A friend of Anne's told a British news service, "Anne's days as a lesbian have been purged from her memory...Anne's wedding is a celebration of her re-entry into the world of heterosexuality."
Deaths
One of Spain's best-known actors, Francisco Rabal, died in Bordeaux, France, Wednesday after the plane he was traveling in made an emergency landing to allow him to receive medical treatment. He was in his 70s. The cause of death has not been released.
In Court
American Pie star Tara Reid testified Tuesday in the grand jury hearing against publicist Elizabeth Grubman, who allegedly backed her sport utility vehicle into a crowd of people outside a trendy nightclub in the Hamptons on July 7, injuring several. The 26-year-old Reid was reportedly with Grubman at a party right before the crash. Grubman is being charged with assault and reckless endangerment.
The lawsuit filed by the American Italian Defense Association against the popular HBO series The Sopranos was brought to a Cook County Circuit courtroom Wednesday. The lawyer for the AIDA urged the judge to issue a declaratory judgement condemning the show as a violation of a clause in the Illinois Constitution guaranteeing individual dignity. AOL Time Warner, Inc.'s attorney, however, urged the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that "courts are not suppose to adjudicate the content of television programs," according to Reuters.
George Harrison's bid to stop his former business manager and partner from declaring bankruptcy was thrown out by Judge Barry Schermer of a St. Louis court circuit who refused the claim that the musician was too ill to give a local deposition. Harrison is trying to protect a settlement of $11 million that he won against Denis O'Brien, his business manager, for alleged mismanagement. Harrison will appeal the ruling.
In General
Superstar Nicole Kidman arrived in style at the Venice Film Festival Thursday, dragging along six bodyguards, 22 pieces of luggage and reportedly getting a speeding ticket on her way to her hotel. The Italian newspapers had a field day as paparazzi pursued Kidman across the canals, desperate to get any tidbits from the redheaded actress about her three-week-old divorce from Tom Cruise. Kidman is at the festival to promote her new film The Others.
To generate excitement for the third installment of its hit reality series, CBS will air an hour-long Survivor special Thursday Oct. 4 at 8 p.m., one week before Survivor 3: Africa bows in the same time slot. Details for the show are still being worked out but apparently the special will focus on how to play the game and will give a preview of Survivor 3.
Michael Jackson's much-anticipated return to the music world with his new single "You Rock My World" has not been getting the wild reaction hoped for, according to many station programmers. Dave Morales, music director for KHKS-FM in Dallas, told Reuters, "We got the single, we heard it and put it on the air...and it was just sort of there. We're not getting any more repeat requests for it." However, for the "You Rock My World" video, Jackson apparently has snagged Marlon Brando and the cast of the The Sopranos. Brando stepped in when actor Robert De Niro had to back out. The video will also feature Benicio Del Toro and Chris Tucker.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are making a comeback with a $40-$60 million CGI feature film with John Woo and Terence Chang producing. A new animated Saturday morning TV series, a live-action miniseries to air on the Hallmark Channel and a series of next-generation video games are also expected to be developed.

It won't just be difficult, it will be virtually impossible to evict "Mission: Impossible 2" from first place this weekend.
After opening to nearly $92 million for the six-day Memorial Day holiday period, Paramount's "M:I-2" is certain to hold on to the top spot on the chart in its second week.
The PG-13 action adventure sequel did $96.3 million its first seven days in theaters vs. the original "Mission's" $79 million. The sequel cracked $100 million on Wednesday, its eighth day in release, and is heading for $200-250 million in the U.S. and Canada. It should do $300-350 million in international theaters, giving it a likely worldwide cume of $500-600 million, compared to the first film's $465 million.
"'Mission' will be number one," promises one insider. "The first one dropped 52 percent in its second weekend. This one did $57.8 million (from Friday-Sunday), so they should expect to be somewhere in the mid-to-high $20 millions. It's going to drop 50 percent-plus. Even if it's 55 percent, I wouldn't be alarmed.
"When you're coming off a Memorial Day weekend with a picture that opened to this magnitude, you just have to expect a 50 percent drop. Your Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is like a Saturday. 'Lost World' was down 53 percent (in its second weekend). A 55 percent drop would put them at $26 million. I think it's $26-28 million."
Going into its second weekend, "M:I-2" was a 22 percent first choice in tracking studies, suggesting it should continue to benefit from strong want-to-see by moviegoers who just haven't gotten to see it yet.
"We have such a big population now and, of course, admission prices are so high we tend to forget you can rack up very big numbers with a very small portion of the population," a distributor explains. "There's a lot of people who never saw 'Titanic' in a movie theater (and it grossed $600.8 million domestically)."
Insiders say the tracking shows "M:I-2" started to get repeat business over the weekend. Repeat ticket sales are typically to younger moviegoers, which is encouraging since the picture's initial appeal was more adult.
Directed by John Woo, "M:I-2" was produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner through their Cruise/Wagner production company, which also produced the 1996 blockbuster "Mission: Impossible." Besides Cruise, the sequel stars Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Sherbedgia and Ving Rhames. It was written by Robert Towne and executive produced by Terence Chang and Paul Hitchcock.
The weekend's only new wide opening, 20th Century Fox's PG-13 comedy "Big Momma's House," will be in 2,800-plus theaters and should finish a hefty second.
"It's good," comments one source looking at the tracking. "It's 83 percent awareness, 43 percent definite interest and 13 percent first choice overall. But it has a 59 percent first choice for African-Americans. It's going to play pretty much urban ethnic. It'll do between $17-20 million."
"I think it's in the high teens - maybe $18 million," agrees another distribution executive.
Directed by Raja Gosnell, it stars Martin Lawrence and Nia Long.
Buena Vista/Disney's PG computer animated feature "Dinosaur," should take third place in its third weekend.
"If it's down 50 percent, it's $12.5 million," an insider notes. "It's somewhere in the low teens."
Directed by Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton, it features such voices as D.B Sweeney, Ossie Davis, Joan Plowright, Della Reese and Alfre Woodard.
What happens to Buena Vista/Touchstone and Spyglass Entertainment's PG-13 action comedy "Shanghai Noon," which arrived to a very encouraging $19.6 million for the six-day holiday period?
"I'm hearing such good things about the picture and how it plays," says a competing studio executive. "It's coming off Memorial Day weekend, so it's got to drop some. But it did $15.6 million (from Friday-Sunday), and if it has only a 30 percent drop, which would be pretty remarkable, that puts it at $11 million. So it could be right in there behind 'Dinosaur.'"
Directed by Tom Dey, "Shanghai" stars Jackie Chan, Owen C. Wilson and Lucy Liu.
DreamWorks' R-rated action adventure hit "Gladiator" should round out the Top Five with $7-8 million in its fifth week. The film is half owned by Universal, which is releasing it internationally.
Directed by Ridley Scott, it stars Russell Crowe.
With no other big new openings to jockey for position, the rest of the marketplace should just shift down one position apiece. That would put DreamWorks' R-rated youth appeal comedy "Road Trip" in sixth place in its third week while DreamWorks' PG-rated Woody Allen comedy "Small Time Crooks" comes in seventh in its third week.
Filling out lower rungs: "Frequency," "U-571" and "Center Stage."
On the limited release front: Columbia's G-rated family drama "Running Free."
Directed by Sergei Bodrov, it stars Chase Moore.

Paramount's "Mission: Impossible 2" took a predictably big second weekend drop, but held on to first place despite big competition from Fox's "Big Momma's House."
"M:I-2" escaped with an ESTIMATED $27 million (-53%) at 3,653 theaters (theater count unchanged; $7,355 per theater). The PG-13-rated action adventure sequel's cume is approximately $130.7 million.
The original "Mission" dropped 52% in its second weekend (May 31-June 2, 1996) and had a cume at that point of $107.2 million. The sequel's cume is running about 22% ahead of the original.
Paramount had anticipated a drop of 50-55% for "M:I-2's" second weekend, saying that was the range to expect after having just opened to blockbuster business for the four-day Memorial Day weekend.
"M:I-2" should wind up grossing $200-250 million in domestic theaters and $300-350 million in international theaters. Its worldwide cume should total $500-600 million. The first "Mission" did $181 million domestically and $284 million internationally for a worldwide cume of $465 million.
Directed by John Woo, "M:I-2" was produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner through their Cruise/Wagner production company, which also produced the 1996 blockbuster "Mission: Impossible." Besides Cruise, the sequel stars Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Sherbedgia and Ving Rhames. It was written by Robert Towne and executive produced by Terence Chang and Paul Hitchcock.
(NOTE: Today's percentage drops are calculated against the Friday-Sunday portion of the previous four-day holiday weekend.)
The weekend's big story, however, was 20th Century Fox's PG-13 comedy "Big Momma's House."
"Momma," this weekend's only wide opening, was a hefty second with a full-figured ESTIMATED $25.6 million at 2,802 houses ($9,136 per theater). Insiders said Fox's decision to go for a PG-13 rather than an R rating was a key factor in achieving its solid success.
"Momma's" per-theater average was the highest for any film playing in wide or limited release this weekend.
"Momma" out-performed industry expectations that it would gross around $20 million given its strong tracking scores going into the weekend. Insiders said late last week that the film had 83% awareness and 43% definite interest and was a 13% overall first choice and a 59% first choice for African-Americans.
"In the immortal words of Bobby Carradine in 'Revenge of the Nerds II' - 'We're back,'" a very pleased Tom Sherak, 20th Domestic Film Group chairman and senior executive vice president of Fox Filmed Entertainment, said Sunday morning.
"For us, it's the beginning of what we think will be a big summer. We have (the animated sci-fi feature) 'Titan A.E.' next and then 'Me, Myself &amp; Irene' (starring Jim Carrey and directed by Bobby &amp; Peter Farrelly) and then 'X-Men' (based on the best-selling sci-fi/fantasy comic book) and then 'Bedazzled' (directed by Harold Ramis and starring Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley). This couldn't start the summer off better."
Sherak said Fox's exit poll scores "were incredible. Excellent was 60%, very good was 28% -- 88% in the Top Two Boxes. Definite recommend was 80% overall." Young males, he added, gave it a definite recommend of over 90%.
Who was "Momma's" core audience? "The core audience was young females - 58% of the audience was under 25 and 60% was female," Sherak replied. "It played huge urban and very good white. You see it crossing over already. There's no color in this. The small little markets did what the small little markets normally do. But the theaters that cross over were huge. When you get to totally white America, the numbers aren't as good, but they're okay."
Emphasizing that the film has good playability for a broad audience, Sherak added, "The critics missed this one. Let's keep a record of how they're doing."
Directed by Raja Gosnell, it stars Martin Lawrence and Nia Long.
Buena Vista/Disney's PG-rated computer animated feature "Dinosaur" took one step down to third place in its third weekend with a less bulky ESTIMATED $12.0 million (-52%) at 3,319 theaters (+17 theaters; $3,616 per theater). Its cume is approximately $96.8 million, heading for $170 million-plus in domestic theaters.
Directed by Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton, "Dinosaur" features such voices as D.B. Sweeney, Ossie Davis, Joan Plowright, Della Reese and Alfre Woodard.
Buena Vista/Touchstone and Spyglass Entertainment's PG-13-rated action comedy "Shanghai Noon" fell one rung to fourth place in its second weekend with a less happy ESTIMATED $8.6 million (-45%) at 2,745 theaters (+34 theaters; $3,133 per theater). Its cume is approximately $31.9 million.
Directed by Tom Dey, it stars Jackie Chan, Owen C. Wilson and Lucy Liu.
DreamWorks' R-rated action adventure "Gladiator" slipped one notch to fifth place in its sixth week, still fighting hard with an ESTIMATED $8.1 million (-40%) at 3,056 theaters (-132 theaters; $2,651 per theater). Its cume is approximately $138.7 million, heading for $175-200 million in domestic theaters.
"Gladiator's" 40% drop was the lowest for any film in this weekend's Top Five.
"Gladiator" is half owned by Universal, which is releasing it internationally.
Directed by Ridley Scott, it stars Russell Crowe.
DreamWorks' R-rated youth appeal comedy "Road Trip" finished sixth, down one peg in its third week but showing good legs with an ESTIMATED $6.7 million (-39%) at 2,654 theaters (+23 theaters; $2,524 per theater). Its cume is approximately $45.5 million.
Directed by Todd Philips, it stars Breckin Meyer and Sean William Scott.
New Line's "Frequency" held on to seventh place in its sixth week, continuing to show terrific legs with an ESTIMATED $2.1 million (-27%) at 1,605 theaters (-198 theaters; $1,293 per theater). Its cume is approximately $38.0 million, heading for about $45 million in domestic theatres.
Directed by Gregory Hoblit, it stars Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel.
"Every week, it's had minimal drops," New Line distribution head David Tuckerman said Sunday morning. "The picture's actually doing exactly what we thought it would do - once we got it in the marketplace, word of mouth would carry it."
DreamWorks' Woody Allen PG-rated comedy "Small Time Crooks" dropped two rungs to eighth place in its third week, still holding well with an ESTIMATED $1.7 million (-45%) at 874 theaters (+45 theaters; $1,945 per theater). Its cume is approximately $11.2 million.
Written and directed by Woody Allen, it stars Allen, Tony Darrow, Hugh Grant, George Grizzard, Jon Lovitz, Elaine May, Michael Rapaport, Elaine Stritch and Tracey Ullman.
"U-571," Universal's PG-13 World War II submarine drama, descended one notch to ninth place in its seventh week with a quiet ESTIMATED $1.42 million (-45%) at 1,591 theaters (-453 theaters; $892 per theater). Its cume is approximately $71.0 million, heading for about $75 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Jonathan Mostow, "U-571" stars Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel and Jon Bon Jovi.
Rounding out the Top Ten was Columbia's PG-13-rated youth appeal dance film "Center Stage," down one slot in its fourth weekend with a calm ESTIMATED $1.1 million (-49%) at 1,362 theaters (-144 theaters; $808 per theater). Its cume is approximately $14.4 million.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner, it stars Amanda Schull, Zoe Saldana, Susan May Pratt, Peter Gallagher, Donna Murphy and Ethan Stiefel.
OTHER OPENINGS
Columbia's G-rated family drama "Running Free" opened in 21st place to a slow ESTIMATED $0.055 million at 100 theaters ($545 per theater).
Directed by S rgei Bodrov, it stars Chase Moore.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
This weekend saw no national sneak previews.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front, Miramax's R-rated comedy "East Is East" added a few more theaters in its eighth week, placing 17th with a quiet ESTIMATED $0.25 million at 157 theaters (+3 theaters; $1,575 per theater). Its cume is approximately $2.4 million.
Produced by Leslee Udwin and directed by Damien O'Donnell, "East" stars Om Puri and Linda Bassett.
USA Films' PG-13-rated drama "Up At The Villa" went a little wider in its fifth week, placing 18th with a dull ESTIMATED $0.19 million (-18%) at 112 theaters (+4 theaters; $1,685 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.8 million.
Directed by Philip Haas, it stars Kristin Scott Thomas, Sean Penn, James Fox, Derek Jacobi and Anne Bancroft.
Paramount Classics' PG-13-rated drama "Passion of Mind" went wider in its second week, placing 20th with a weak ESTIMATED $0.099 million (-47%) at 122 theaters (+18 theaters; $815 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.4 million.
Directed by Alain Berliner, it stars Demi Moore.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 for the weekend -- took in approximately $96.89 million, up about 19.86% from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $80.83 million for four days.
This weekend's key film gross for three days cannot be compared to this year's previous weekend, which was a four day holiday weekend.
Last year, 20th Century Fox's third week of "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace - Episode One" was first with $32.89 million at 3,024 theaters ($10,877 per theater); and Universal's second week of "Notting Hill" was second with $15.01 million at 2,752 theaters ($5,455 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $47.9 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $52.6 million.
STUDIO MARKET SHARES
Based on business by key films (those grossing $500,000 or more), last weekend's top six distributors were:
Paramount was first with two films ("Mission: Impossible 2 and "Rules of Engagement," grossing an ESTIMATED $27.51 million or 28.4% of the market.
20th Century Fox was second with two films ("Big Momma's House" and "Where the Heart Is"), grossing an ESTIMATED $26.6 million or 27.5% of the market.
Buena Vista (Disney and Touchstone) was third with two films("Dinosaur" and "Shanghai Noon"), grossing an ESTIMATED $20.6 million or 21.3% of the market.
DreamWorks was fourth with three films ("Gladiator," "Road Trip" and "Small Time Crooks"), grossing an ESTIMATED $16.5 million or 17.0% of the market.
Universal was fifth with three films ("U-571," "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" and "Erin Brockovich"), grossing an ESTIMATED $2.48 million or 2.6% of the market.
New Line was sixth with one film ("Frequency"), grossing an ESTIMATED $2.1 million or 2.2% of the market.
ADDITIONAL ESTIMATES
(11)Where the Heart Is/Fox: Theaters: 1,087 (-281) Gross: $1.0 million (-37%) Average per theater: $920 Cume: $30.1 million
(12)Erin Brockovich/Universal: Theaters: 736 (-62) Gross: $0.55 million (-36%) Average per theater: $750 Cume: $122.3 million
(13)Rules of Engagement/Paramount: Theaters: 555 (-238) Gross: $0.51 million (-15%) Average per theater: $920 Cume: $60.2 million
(14)The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas/Universal: Theaters: 1,105 (-386) Gross: $0.50 million (-60%) Average per theater: $455 Cume: $30.9 million
(15)Love &amp; Basketball/New Line: Theaters: 450 (-90) Gross: $0.4 million (-49%) Average per theater: $889 Cume: $26.0 million
(16)Battlefield Earth/Warner Bros./Franchise Pictures: Theaters: 641 (-1,946) Gross: $0.25 million (-70%) Average per theater: $390 Cume: $20.9 million
(17)East Is East/Miramax: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(18)Up at the Villa/USA Films: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(19)Screwed/Universal: Theaters: 242 (-561) Gross: $0.1 million (-70%) Average per theater: $415 Cume: $7.0 million
(20)Passion Of Mind/Paramount Classics: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(21)RUNNING FREE/Columbia: (see OTHER OPENINGS above)

Paramount's "Mission: Impossible 2" was saying, "mission accomplished" early Sunday morning.
"M:I-2" dominated Memorial Day weekend with an ESTIMATED $59 million in ticket sales from Friday through Sunday and $74 million for four days (Friday through Monday).
"M:I-2" easily out-performed the original 1996 "Mission." If the sequel comes in with a four-day gross of $74 million at 3,653 theaters ($20,257 per theater), it will be about 30% ahead of the first "Mission's" $56.8 million.
The sequel's ESTIMATED six-day cume (Wednesday-Monday) of $95 million is about 27% bigger than the original's $74.9 million, which also included Tuesday night previews.
Not surprisingly, "M:I-2's" per-theater average was the highest for any film playing in wide or limited release this weekend.
Speculation elsewhere that "M:I-2" would break or come close to breaking the $92.7 million record set over Memorial Day weekend 1997 by Universal and Amblin Entertainment's "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" was not well founded. Because "Lost World" opened on a Friday - and had preview showings Thursday night - its gross was for four days (or four and a half days if you count the previews as a separate day). "M:I-2," on the other hand, arrived on a Wednesday, making it virtually impossible for it to do $93 million for Friday through Monday.
About $21 million in must-see-it-first business went into the film's first two days, which would otherwise have been forced into its first weekend if it had opened Friday instead of Wednesday. Knowing that, Paramount wasn't thinking about topping "Lost World," but had its sights set on out-performing the original "Mission." The sequel did just that right from the get-go.
Nonetheless, this was a record-setting weekend thanks to "M:I-2." Early Sunday morning, it appeared that key films - those grossing at least $500,000 for the four days - were on their way to a Memorial Day record total of about $182.9 million. That would be up about 28% from the record of $142.9 million set the weekend of May 23-26, 1997, the weekend "Lost World" opened.
"It's phenomenal," Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning. "It's running roughly 25% ahead of 'Mission' It's really strong to play that far ahead of the original."
Where is it heading? "Certainly, I think, it goes over $200 million," Lewellen replied. "With these projections, assuming they hold true or are relatively close, we should be at $95 million through six days and over $100 million the first seven days. We expect it to be over $200 million now."
The first "Mission" did $180.9 million domestically and $284 million internationally for a worldwide cume of $464.9 million.
The PG-13-rated action adventure sequel got off to a sizzling start last Wednesday with $12.5 million at a record-setting 3,653 theaters ($3,422 per theater). It took in another $8.5 million Thursday ($2,327 per theater), down just 32% from Wednesday. The original "Mission" had dropped 46% from Wednesday to Thursday -- $11.8 million vs. $6.3 million.
"M:I-2" went into the record books as the fourth-biggest Wednesday opening ever - behind 20th Century Fox's "Star Wars: Episode One - the Phantom Menace" with $28.5 million; Fox's "Independence Day" with $17.4 million; and Columbia's "Men In Black" with $14 million. "M:I-2" is the second-biggest Wednesday opening ever in the month of May, following "Phantom Menace."
Directed by John Woo, "M:I-2" was produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner through their Cruise/Wagner production company, which also produced the 1996 blockbuster "Mission: Impossible." Besides Cruise, the sequel stars Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Serbedzija and Ving Rhames. It was written by Robert Towne and executive produced by Terence Chang and Paul Hitchcock.
Buena Vista/Disney's PG-rated computer animated feature "Dinosaur" was second in its second weekend with a still-sizable ESTIMATED $34.5 million (-18%) at 3,302 theaters (+45 theaters; $10,440 per theater). Its cume is approximately $82.9 million.
A Buena Vista spokesperson said Sunday morning that the studio would not be releasing estimates of its films' grosses for the holiday weekend until Monday morning. Estimates listed here for Buena Vista films are based on projections from other industry sources.
Insiders noted that the classic pattern for movies that open the weekend before a holiday weekend is for them to do about as much business over the four-day weekend as they did for the prior three-day weekend. "Dinosaur" opened to $38.9 million the weekend of May 19-21.
Directed by Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton, "Dinosaur" features such voices as D.B. Sweeney, Ossie Davis, Joan Plowright, Della Reese and Alfre Woodard.
The holiday weekend's only other new arrival, Buena Vista/Touchstone and Spyglass Entertainment's PG-13-rated action comedy "Shanghai Noon," kicked off in third place to what Hollywood handicappers called very encouraging and better-than-expected ticket sales.
"Shanghai" estimates varied Sunday morning, but insiders speculated its four-day gross would be about $20.9 million at 2,711 theaters ($7,709 per theater).
"I understand 'Shanghai Noon' plays pretty well," one competing studio executive said Sunday morning. "Even if it opens to $17-18 million, you'd have to say they launched it pretty well and they've got a good sample out there. If word-of-mouth is good, they should do okay."
Directed by Tom Dey, it stars Jackie Chan, Owen C. Wilson and Lucy Liu.
DreamWorks' R-rated action adventure "Gladiator" finished a solid fourth, holding up well in the face of "M:I-2's" powerful opening.
A DreamWorks spokesperson said Sunday morning that the studio was estimating "Gladiator" as having grossed $12.9 million for three days, a 35% drop, and $16.8 million for four days at 3,188 theaters (+147 theaters; $5,270 per theater) in its fifth week. Its cume is approximately $122.2 million, heading for $175-200 million in domestic theaters.
"Gladiator" is half owned by Universal, which is releasing it internationally.
Directed by Ridley Scott, it stars Russell Crowe.
DreamWorks' R-rated youth appeal comedy "Road Trip" finished fifth, down two notches in its second week. The studio said Sunday morning that it was estimating "Trip" as having grossed $10.3 million for three days, a 34% drop, and $13.7 million for four days at 2,631 theaters (+101 theaters; $5,207 per theater). Its cume is approximately $31.9 million.
Directed by Todd Philips, it stars Breckin Meyer and Sean William Scott.
The four-day holiday weekend saw strong market shares for three studios. Paramount was a solid first with $74 million ("M:I-2") or 40.5% of the marketplace. Buena Vista was a strong second with $55.4 million ("Dinosaur" and "Shanghai Noon") or 30.3%. And DreamWorks was an impressive third with about $34.3 million ("Gladiator," "Road Trip" and "Small Time Crooks") or 18.8%.

Moviegoers accepted the mission of seeing Paramount's "Mission: Impossible 2" over Memorial Day weekend.
"M:I-2's four-day gross of an ESTIMATED $71.8 million at 3,653 theaters ($19,655 per theater) is 26.4% bigger than the first "Mission's" $56.8 million. It puts "M:I-2" into the record books as the second-biggest Memorial Day weekend opening ever.
The biggest Memorial Day opening, Universal and Amblin's 1997 launch of "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," did $90.2 million for four days (May 23-26), but opened on a Friday. "M:I-2's" Wednesday kick off diverted $21 million of ticket sales into Wednesday and Thursday, which might otherwise have bulked up its gross for Friday through Monday.
The sequel's ESTIMATED six-day cume (Wednesday-Monday) of $92.8 million is 23.9% bigger than the original's $74.9 million, which also included Tuesday night previews. "M:I-2" is on track to wind up with $200-250 million in domestic theaters.
With "M:I-2" leading the pack, it was a record-setting Memorial Day at the box office. Key films - those grossing at least $500,000 for the four days - grossed about $179.5 million, up 25.6% from the old record of $142.9 million set May 23-26, 1997, when "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" opened.
"It's number two, behind 'Jurassic Park' (in terms of Memorial Day openings)," Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen said Monday morning. "It's difficult to compare, of course, because they opened on a Friday. We had $21 million on Wednesday and Thursday. If you put that on top of the $71.8 million, we'd be in the $93 million range, where the 'Jurassic' number was $90 million. Again, you can't say, obviously, that you would have picked up all that Wednesday and Thursday gross through the weekend. It's hard to compare that to the 'Jurassic' opening. (What's really important) is the ultimate gross and what you retain. That's the name of the game."
Although Paramount held Tuesday night previews before opening the first "Mission," it chose not to do previews this time around. "One of the reasons we didn't do the previews was because the grosses would have had an asterisk beside it (indicating it was) a six-and-a-half-day number or a four-and-a-half-day number," Lewellen said. "Did it cost us money? I don't think so. You can say, well, they didn't come Tuesday night and they didn't get in Wednesday or whatever. But, ultimately, to the bottom line - no, I don't think it hurt us."
Rainy weather in parts of the East and mid-West on Sunday helped ticket sales in general. "I know there were several baseball games (rained out), and even the Indy 500 was delayed," Lewellen said. "I know the golf tournament in Ohio was delayed until today. They didn't even finish it yesterday. So there was some rain back East, in the North East, particularly."
Where is it heading? "I expect to finish the first seven days in the high $90 millions -- $96-98 million, something like that," Lewellen replied. "The Tuesday figure should be $4.4 million to $5.7 million. If we get that, we're looking at, basically, $96-98 million for the first seven days. That would put it over $100 million on Wednesday (May 31). With a $100 million first week, you have to think it's going to get to $200 million."
That should get "M:I-2" to between $200-250 million in domestic theaters. The first "Mission" did $180.9 million domestically and $284 million internationally, for a worldwide cume of $464.9 million.
The sequel film begins its international release through Paramount and UIP in Australia later this week. "Tom Cruise is down there," Lewellen said. "He went there over the weekend to promote the film."
Given its likely domestic performance and its strong international appeal with Cruise, "M:I-2" should wind up with $300-350 million in international theaters. That would give it a worldwide cume of $500 million to $600 million, an increase over the original's worldwide total of anywhere from 7.5% on the low end to 29% on the high end.
The PG-13-rated action adventure sequel got off to a sizzling start last Wednesday with $12.5 million at a record-setting 3,653 theaters ($3,422 per theater). It took in another $8.5 million Thursday ($2,327 per theater), down just 32% from Wednesday. The original "Mission" had dropped 46% from Wednesday to Thursday -- $11.8 million vs. $6.3 million.
Looking at other daily grosses for "M:I-2" vs. "Mission" shows: Friday -- $16.5 million vs. $13.1 million; Saturday -- $22.1 million vs. $16.7 million; Sunday -- $19.2 million vs. $15.6 million; and Monday - an ESTIMATED $14.0 million vs. $11.4 million. Paramount is estimating that its Tuesday gross will be in the $4.4-5.7 million range. The original's Tuesday gross was $4.1 million.
"M:I-2" went into the record books as the fourth-biggest Wednesday opening ever - behind 20th Century Fox's "Star Wars: Episode One - the Phantom Menace" with $28.5 million; Fox's "Independence Day" with $17.4 million; and Columbia's "Men In Black" with $14 million. "M:I-2" is the second-biggest Wednesday opening ever in the month of May, following ""Phantom Menace."
Not surprisingly, "M:I-2's" per-theater average was the highest for any film playing in wide or limited release this weekend.
Directed by John Woo, "M:I-2" was produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner through their Cruise/Wagner production company, which also produced the 1996 blockbuster "Mission: Impossible." Besides Cruise, the sequel stars Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Sherbedzija and Ving Rhames. It was written by Robert Towne and executive produced by Terence Chang and Paul Hitchcock.
(NOTE: All of today's weekend estimates are for the four-day period from Friday through Monday. Percentage drops are calculated against the previous three-day weekend plus Monday.)
Buena Vista/Disney's PG-rated computer animated feature "Dinosaur" was second in its second weekend with a still-sizable ESTIMATED $33.5 million (-20%) at 3,302 theaters (+45 theaters; $10,145 per theater). Its cume is approximately $81.9 million, heading for $170-200 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton, "Dinosaur" features such voices as D.B. Sweeney, Ossie Davis, Joan Plowright, Della Reese and Alfre Woodard.
Buena Vista/Touchstone and Spyglass Entertainment's PG-13-rated action comedy "Shanghai Noon," the only other wide opening this weekend, got off to an encouraging start in third place with an ESTIMATED $19.5 million at 2,711 theaters ($7,193 per theater).
Directed by Tom Dey, it stars Jackie Chan, Owen C. Wilson and Lucy Liu.
"We're extremely happy," Buena Vista Distribution president Chuck Viane said Monday morning. "For us, we broke a couple of records. We have never launched a movie to an opening as big as 'Shanghai.' Our Memorial Day record up until now has been 'Horse Whisperer' at $14.5 million. So this one makes us feel really good, as well as the fact that 'Dinosaur' just continues to roll. And now that some serious school vacations are ahead of us, we're feeling really good about it.
"I think this is just a fabulous weekend for the industry - to think that we can go five movies deep (all well over $10 million). I think that is just sensational. My records show that we're 25% ahead of the biggest Memorial Day weekend on record and 30% ahead of last year. I've got to think the industry is very healthy when you can have five movies doing it like this."
Viane added that, "I am so excited about 'Shanghai' because everybody questioned whether it was the right thing to do (to open it against 'MI:2'). I think any time you can launch a movie to this number and have the entire summer play time ahead of you with the (film's) playability, you can be nothing but happy. This has been a very good weekend for our guys because this weekend helped break our old record. It's not an industry record, but inside the company, we had never done $400 million (in grosses) this fast. I think we beat our old record by 11 days (that was set) back in '96."
Asked how he felt about "Dinosaur" not doing as much for the four-day weekend as it opened to for three days the prior weekend, Viane replied, "The problem is - and as much as I would have loved to have done that, too - there's no history. That's the problem. There has never been a major family movie that has launched at this time. So nobody knew what to expect.
"My feeling (is that) the top three movies are all PG or PG-13. When I went to the movies this weekend, there were family units at 'Shanghai,' there were family units at 'Dinosaur' and there were family units at 'Mission.' In some respects, we were certainly all competitive and yet, I think, we all did as well, if not better, than could have been expected. I think these five movies have to be ecstatic over what's just happened. If this doesn't launch the summer, I don't know what will. This is fabulous."
Focusing on "Dinosaur," Viane pointed out, "Today we will be somewhere between $8-9 million. It will break the all-time Monday record, which was 'Lion King' at $6.6 million. It's not comparable, because it was a June Monday, but in the summer every day's a holiday. All I know is, it's been an awful nice weekend."
DreamWorks' R-rated action adventure "Gladiator" took fourth place, showing very good legs in its fourth week despite the strength of "M:I-2," with an ESTIMATED $17.3 million (-11%) at 3,188 theaters (+147 theaters; $5,427 per theater). Its cume is approximately $127.2 million, heading for $175-200 million in domestic theaters.
"Gladiator" is half owned by Universal, which is releasing it internationally.
Directed by Ridley Scott, it stars Russell Crowe.
DreamWorks' R-rated youth appeal comedy "Road Trip" was fifth, sliding two pegs in its second week with a still lively ESTIMATED $14.0 million (-12%) at 2,631 theaters (+101 theaters; $5,321 per theater). Its cume is approximately $35.8 million.
Directed by Todd Philips, it stars Breckin Meyer and Sean William Scott.
DreamWorks' Woody Allen PG-rated comedy "Small Time Crooks" rose one rung to sixth place in its second week, holding impressively with an ESTIMATED $3.9 million (-8%) at 870 theaters (+5 theaters; $4,483 per theater). Its cume is approximately $8.9 million.
Written and directed by Woody Allen, it stars Allen, Tony Darrow, Hugh Grant, George Grizzard, Jon Lovitz, Elaine May, Michael Rapaport, Elaine Stritch and Tracey Ullman.
New Line's "Frequency" dropped two slots to seventh place in its fifth week, still holding well with an ESTIMATED $3.8 million (-23%) at 1,803 theaters (-399 theaters; $2,108 per theater). Its cume is approximately $35.3 million, heading for about $40 million in domestic theatres.
Directed by Gregory Hoblit, it stars Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel.
"U-571," Universal's PG-13 World War II submarine drama, fell four rungs to eighth place in its sixth week with a slower ESTIMATED $3.19 million (-37%) at 2,043 theaters (-693 theaters; $1,560 per theater). Its cume is approximately $68.9 million, heading for about $75 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Jonathan Mostow, "U-571" stars Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel and Jon Bon Jovi.
Columbia's PG-13-rated youth appeal dance film "Center Stage" slipped one slot to ninth place in its third weekend with a calm ESTIMATED $2.8 million (-21%) at 1,506 theaters (theater count unchanged; $1,859 per theater). Its cume is approximately $12.9 million.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner, it stars Amanda Schull, Zoe Saldana, Susan May Pratt, Peter Gallagher, Donna Murphy and Ethan Stiefel.
Rounding out the Top Ten was 20th Century Fox's PG-13-rated drama "Where the Heart Is," down one notch in its fifth week with a low pressure ESTIMATED $2.0 million (-35%) at 1,372 theaters (-775 theaters; $1,458 per theater). Its cume is approximately $28.6 million.
"Heart," which cost about $15 million to make, was picked up by Fox for domestic and English speaking territories for only $9 million.
Directed and produced by Matt Williams, it stars Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing and Joan Cusack.
OTHER OPENINGS
Paramount Classics' PG-13-rated drama "Passion of Mind" opened poorly in 24th place to an ESTIMATED $0.2 million at 104 theaters ($1,940 per theater).
Directed by Alain Berliner, it stars Demi Moore.
Lions Gate Films' launched its R-rated erotic comedy "8 1/2 Women," placing 27th with a soft ESTIMATED $0.052 million at 15 theaters ($3,440 per theater).
Written and directed by Peter Greenaway, it stars John Standing and Matthew Delamere.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
This weekend saw no national sneak previews.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front, Miramax's R-rated comedy "East Is East" went wider in its seventh week, placing 21st with a quiet ESTIMATED $0.39 million at 154 theaters (+88 theaters; $2,550 per theater). Its cume is approximately $2.0 million.
Produced by Leslee Udwin and directed by Damien O'Donnell, "East" stars Om Puri and Linda Bassett.
Miramax Films' R-rated contemporary version of "Hamlet" added a few theaters in its third week, placing 26th with an encouraging ESTIMATED $0.13 million (+13%) at 19 theaters (+6 theaters; $6,785 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.4 million.
Directed by Michael Almereyda, it stars Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Sam Shepard, Diane Venora, Bill Murray, Live Schreiber and Julia Stiles.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 for the weekend -- took in approximately $179.52 million for four days, up about 31.92% from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $136.08 million for four days.
This weekend's key film gross for four days cannot be compared to this year's previous weekend, which was a non-holiday, three-day weekend.
Last year, 20th Century Fox's second week of "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace - Episode One" was first with $66.90 million at 3,023 theaters ($22,132 per theater); and Universal's opening week of "Notting Hill" was second with $27.69 million at 2,747 theaters ($10,080 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $94.6 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $105.3 million.
STUDIO MARKET SHARES
Based on business by key films (those grossing $500,000 or more), last weekend's top six distributors were:
Paramount was first with two films ("Mission: Impossible 2 and "Rules of Engagement," grossing an ESTIMATED $72.87 million or 40.6% of the market.
Buena Vista (Disney and Touchstone) was second with three films("Dinosaur," "Shanghai Noon" and "Keeping the Faith"), grossing an ESTIMATED $53.61 million or 29.9% of the market.
DreamWorks was third with three films("Gladiator," "Road Trip" and "Small Time Crooks"), grossing an ESTIMATED $35.2 million or 19.6% of the market.
Universal was fourth with three films ("U-571," "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" and "Erin Brockovich"), grossing an ESTIMATED $5.99 million or 3.3% of the market.
New Line was fifth with two films ("Frequency" and "Love &amp; Basketball"), grossing an ESTIMATED $4.75 million or 2.6% of the market.
Sony Pictures Releasing (Columbia, TriStar, Screen Gems) was sixth with one film ("Center Stage"), grossing an ESTIMATED $2.8 million or 1.6% of the market.
ADDITIONAL ESTIMATES
(11)The Flintstones in Viva R ock Vegas/Universal: Theaters: 1,491 (-1,201) Gross: $1.66 million (-40%) Average per theater: $1,110 Cume: $30.1 million
(12)Battlefield Earth/Warner Bros./Franchise Pictures: Theaters: 2,587 (-720) Gross: $1.24 million (-71%) Average per theater: $480 Cume: $20.5 million
(13)Erin Brockovich/Universal: Theaters: 800 (-152) Gross: $1.15 million (-5%) Average per theater: $1,440 Cume: $121.6 million
(14)Rules of Engagement/Paramount: Theaters: 793 (-269) Gross: $1.07 million (-16%) Average per theater: $1,345 Cume: $59.9 million
(15)Love &amp; Basketball/New Line: Theaters: 540 (-293) Gross: $0.95 million (-29%) Average per theater: $1,759 Cume: $25.4 million
(16)Keeping the Faith/Buena Vista: Theaters: 377 (-465) Gross: $0.61 million (-48%) Average per theater: $1,616 Cume: $34.9 million
(17)The Big Kahuna/Lions Gate: Theaters: 309 (0) Gross: $0.53 million (-38%)(tie) Average per theater: $1,720 Cume: $1.9 million
(17)Held Up/Trimark: Theaters: 420 (-259) Gross: $0.53 million (-64%) (tie) Average per theater: $1,260 Cume: $4.2 million
(19)Screwed/Universal: Theaters: 804 (-957) Gross: $0.43 million (-77%) Average per theater: $530 Cume: $6.8 million
(20)The Road to El Dorado/DreamWorks: Theaters: 602 (+151) Gross: $0.42 million (sub-run) Average per theater: $695 Cume: $50.0 million
(22)East Is East/Miramax: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(22)The Virgin Suicides/Paramount Classics: Theaters: 197 (-78) Gross: $0.35 million (-37%) Average per theater: $1,795 Cume: $3.0 million
(23) Up At The Villa/USA Films: Theaters: 108 (-1) Gross: $0.3 million (+1%) Average per theater: $2,785 Cume: $1.5 million
(24)PASSION OF MIND/Paramount Classics: (see OTHER OPENINGS above)
(25)The Skulls/Universal: Theaters: 182 (-123) Gross: $0.19 million (-45%) Average per theater: $1,020 Cume: $35.0 million
(26)Hamlet/Miramax: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(27)8 1/2 WOMEN/Lions Gate Films: (see OTHER OPENINGS above)

Most moviegoers' mission Memorial Day weekend will be to see Paramount's "Mission: Impossible 2."
The PG-13-rated action adventure sequel -- known for short as "M:I-2" -- got off to a flying start with its Wednesday opening to $12.5 million at a record-setting 3,653 theaters ($3,422 per theater).
"It's a 37 percent first choice in the tracking," an insider points out, predicting blockbuster business for the long holiday weekend. Looking back, he adds, the original "Mission" was a 27 percent first choice when it opened, and last year's "Star Wars: Episode One -- The Phantom Menace" was a 43 percent first choice.
"M:I-2's" Wednesday gross compares very favorably to the original "Mission: Impossible's" opening day total of $11.8 million for Wed., May 22, 1996, at 3,012 theaters ($3,918 per theater). That gross actually included pre-opening Tuesday night preview showings as well as the first full day's ticket sales. Because Paramount never broke out how much of that total represented the previews, it's consequently impossible to make precise comparisons between the two opening-day figures. It's reasonable, however, to figure that the sneaks did $1.5-2.0 million, which would have put the Wednesday-only gross in the $10.3-$9.8 million range.
The original "Mission" took in $56.8 million for the four-day weekend (May 24-27, 1996). It grossed $74.9 million for six days (if you don't count Tuesday's previews as an additional day or a half-day) and $79.0 million for its first full week in theaters (again, not counting the previews as an extra day). "Mission" went on to gross $180.9 million domestically and $284 million internationally, for a worldwide cume of $464.9 million.
Hollywood handicappers are anticipating $75-95 million for "M:I-2" for the six-day period from Wednesday through Monday and a seven-day gross of $80-100 million.
Clearly, "M:I-2" will be Number One by a mile for the four-day weekend, grossing north of $56 million.
Although there will be tons of media coverage of the opening day's gross, it won't be until Friday morning that the first meaningful comparisons can be made. Friday it will be possible to compare the drop from Wednesday to Thursday. The original "Mission's" drop was 46 percent, but its Wednesday gross included Tuesday night previews.
"Here's the question," says one observer. "Did all of that business go into Wednesday? In other words, the people who were so gung-ho to come out (to see the original) that Tuesday night, did they simply come out (to see the sequel) Wednesday, or are some of them going to be spread out over the first couple of days? If you accept the theory that you can't do as much business in one day as you can in a day and a half - whether because of capacity or because people might have been able to go Tuesday who couldn't go Wednesday for some reason - then they should not take as big a drop Thursday. They'll be measuring one day against one day, where last time they were measuring one day against a day and a half. That plus the better playability of the sequel suggests they won't drop 46 percent Thursday from Wednesday."
In 1996, "Mission's" daily grosses for its first week in theaters were: Wednesday -- $11.8 million; Thursday -- $6.3 million; Friday -- $13.1 million; Saturday -- $16.7 million; Sunday -- $15.6 million; Monday -- $11.4 million; and Tuesday -- $4.1 million. Its seven-day total was $79 million.
"If they follow the same trajectory, they'll be ahead of $79 million," an insider explains. "Obviously, they're hoping they won't drop 46 percent on Thursday because the sequel plays better than the first one. You're dealing with such big numbers that the difference between a 35 percent drop Thursday and a 46 percent drop could ultimately be $15 million for the first week, in the sense that it follows a different trajectory."
Directed by John Woo, "M:I-2" was produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner through their Cruise/Wagner production company, which also produced the 1996 blockbuster "Mission: Impossible." Besides Cruise, the sequel stars Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Sherbedgia and Ving Rhames. It was written by Robert Towne and executive produced by Terence Chang and Paul Hitchcock.
"I think 'Dinosaur' has the potential to do for the four days what it did last weekend for three days," a distribution executive predicts. That would give the Buena Vista/Disney PG-rated computer animated feature $39-40 million and make it a solid Number Two in its second weekend.
Directed by Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton, it features such voices as D.B. Sweeney, Ossie Davis, Joan Plowright, Della Reese and Alfre Woodard.
"For pictures that play well, they tend to do on Memorial Day weekend what they did the previous (three-day) weekend," an insiders says. "Obviously, a movie like 'Mission' coming into the marketplace takes a big chunk of business - maybe not so much out of 'Dinosaur,' but out of 'Gladiator.'"
If "Gladiator" takes a hit, the DreamWorks' R-rated action adventure would finish third with $15-16 million in its fourth week. The film is half owned by Universal, which is releasing it internationally.
Directed by Ridley Scott, it stars Russell Crowe.
DreamWorks' R-rated youth appeal comedy "Road Trip" should come in fourth in its second weekend. "'Road Trip,' which opened to $15.5 million, ought to be able to do $12 million for the four days," an executive speculates.
Directed by Todd Philips, it stars Breckin Meyer and Sean William Scott.
The holiday weekend's only other new arrival, Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13-rated action comedy "Shanghai Noon," doesn't kick off until Friday. Given its first-choice tracking of 7 percent, it isn't likely to do better than fifth place with about $10 million at 2,711 theaters.
"It's a 7 percent first choice for both males and females," an insider notes. "Its best score is 10 percent with 18-20 year olds."
Directed by Tom Dey, "Shanghai" stars Jackie Chan, Owen C. Wilson and Lucy Liu.
"That puts it in a category with (Buena Vista's comedy) 'Spy Hard,' which opened to $10.4 million in third place for the four-day weekend against the first 'Mission: Impossible,'" says one observer. That same weekend, Warner Bros.' "Twister" was second with $38 million, which is in the same area as "Dinosaur" this time around.
"After 'Shanghai Noon,' you basically fall off the deep end," a studio source points out. "'Small Time Crooks' may grab another $3 million. The rest is just a couple million here and there - for 'U-571' and 'Frequency' and 'Battlefield Earth.'"
Written and directed by Woody Allen, the PG-rated comedy "Crooks" stars Allen, Tony Darrow, Hugh Grant, George Grizzard, Jon Lovitz, Elaine May, Michael Rapaport, Elaine Stritch and Tracey Ullman.
Warner Bros. and Franchise Pictures' PG-13-rated sci-fi action adventure "Battlefield Earth" is directed by Roger Christian and stars John Travolta, Barry Pepper and Forest Whitaker.
Universal's PG-13-rated World War II submarine drama "U-571" is directed by Jonathan Mostow and stars Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel and Jon Bon Jovi.
New Line's PG-13-rated time travel thriller "Frequency" is directed by Gregory Hoblit and stars Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel.
On the limited release front: Paramount Classics opens its PG-13-rated drama "Passion of Mind."
Directed by Alain Berliner, it stars Demi Moore.